By Irene LeClaire
Special Contributor
Over 300 Boy Scouts and leaders gathered at Camp Hinds Boy Scout Camp in Raymond on Saturday for the Klondike Derby 2006. The Derby’s theme was “In Search of the Yeti.”
Scouts formed into four-to-six-man teams each boasting their own pack sleds, which were pushed, pulled and sometimes floated through snow, mud and surface water to various skill stations scattered throughout the camp. All the while they were at risk of being caught and eaten by the dreaded “Yeti” which has been know to feast on Webelos (last year Cub Scouts).
The Scouts demonstrated their ability to get through camp with only compass point directions to guide them. They practiced First Aid on their fellow Scouts fallen victim to various “mock” injuries, crossed over crevasses making a bridge from logs on hand, and built shelters from snow or materials carried on their sleds. They were charged with boiling an egg in a cup of water, but were limited to the use of flint and steel to start their fires (no matches for this group!). Points were earned at each station and plaques were awarded to the top three teams in Boy Scout and Webelo divisions.
During the day, the howls of the Yeti could be heard throughout the camp. At the end of the day, each team followed clues leading them to hunt down the Yeti. At the end of the weekend, Camp Hinds, it is good to report, was safe once more safe from the dreaded “Yeti.”
The Klondike Derby was sponsored by the Casco Bay District of the Pine Tree Council of Boy Scouts of America. Planning for this event was in large part done by brothers of the “Order of the Arrow,” a Scout-led service organization. For more information on Scouting, call Troop 51 in Windham at 893-0565 or the Pine Tree Council at 797-5252.
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